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March 3, 1945:
We left Merzerich and traveled a distance of 21 miles and are
now located about four miles east of Elsdorf. There is a high
ridge separating us from Cologne. The country here is flat and
the scenery good. We are housed in a big farmhouse. Cattle and
chickens are running loose. This farm house is so big it is housing
our entire company. As I write this, parts of our outfit are
preparing to take Cologne. (The German's call it Koln.) Will
there be a big battle? Time will tell. Today is Sunday, but one
would never know it. Didn't get to Mass today. It is war.
March 6, 1945:
Cologne is taken. The Third Armored along with the 104th Timberwolf
Division takes this town formerly known as the Queen City. After
five years of air raids and a final pasting by the Third Armored,
Cologne appears anything but a queen, as we entered the city
on March 8th.
March 7, 1945:
Left this little hamlet four miles east of Elsdorf and traveled
about fifteen miles to the banks of the Rhine River.
March 8, 1945:
I made my first visit to Cologne. Koln, as it is known to the
Germans, is a dead city. Nothing but rubble. Devastation, not
only from the Third Armored battle, but from five or so years
of heavy bombing by the Americans and British. I observed two
unusual things. One, the Ford Motor Company had a plant here.
Rubble all around the plant, but the Ford Motor Plant is untouched.
Talk about pin point bombing, I have witnessed its effects. Also
the famous Cathedral of Cologne is still standing. It is slightly
damaged. There are knocked out tanks all around the Cathedral
and the great and famous Hohenzollern Bridge is lying submerged
in the Rhine River, near the Cathedral. It appears our bombers
were told not to hit the Ford Plant or the Cathedral.
There are hundreds of freight cars and oil
tankers resting in silence on the bombed out sidings. Many, many
bomb craters everywhere.
This day we learned that the 9th Armored Division
captured the Remagen Bridge across the Rhine. This is great news,
for it will help the Americans to have immediate access crossing
the Rhine River.
There are no civilians around, that includes
the small towns in the immediate area. Can't figure out where
they are. The devastation around here reminds me of what I saw
at St. Lo, France.
Since there is no one around to care for the
farm animals, you see cows, chickens, horses, and other farm
animals running all over the place. Everything is on the loose.
An interesting human interest story has evolved
as a result of these chickens. Eggs are a real delicacy. There
is a chicken coop nearby with about two hundred chickens. About
twenty of us guys have the same idea. Everytime we go into this
chicken coop to get a few eggs, there is plenty of competition
among us. We are all waiting around for the chickens to lay their
eggs. It's really comical to see everyone standing around waiting
for a chicken to lay an egg. So far Carl Kieffer, Tex Bolt, and
I have gathered about three dozen eggs.
March 11, 1945:
I note that things are easing up for us and we are at present
living a normal life.
We are beginning to see German civilians emerging
from their cellars, attics, and bomb shelters. I have learned
why we didn't see any civilians when we took Cologne and a few
days after. They were fed propaganda by the Nazis that we would
kill them. Consequently, they were deathly afraid of us. After
observing us from their hiding places they realized that the
American soldier was okay. So they began to surface.
There are many foreigners around here. They
are all released prisoners of war. They seem to be wandering
around in a listless manner. Many look starved and haggard. There
are French, Belgian, Polish, and Russian P.W.'s. You should see
them tear into a candy bar. Most of these released prisoners
were slave laborers for the Nazis.
Believe it or not we have recently been given
a ration of Coca Cola. We are rationed two bottles a week. It
isn't much, but is just one of those things that brings home
just a little closer.
The Coke is coming from a recently installed
Coca Cola plant in Spa, Belgium. This town of Spa is where we
spent Christmas Eve during the Battle of the Bulge. Spa is or
was a great resort town and is known throughout Europe. This
is where the term "Spa" originated. It means a fountain
or mineral water.
I have this notation in my diary: "I
sure have been thinking of my three brothers of late. I know
they are all going through something different at present. John,
by now is setting foot on foreign soil in the Pacific. My kid
brother, Paul, is about to leave his senior high school classmates
to join, or maybe already has joined the Navy. My older brother,
Bob, is about to leave his wife and two kids to join the Army.
Oh My! What a terrible thought, but it just has to be."
March 16, 1945:
We left Esch and traveled fifteen miles northwest to Buschbell.
Here we have a period of rest and live in quite a swanky home.
There is a greenhouse nearby and tulips are blooming at the present.
Reminding me of home and Niessner's. This little village of 1,000
has air raid tunnels that go twenty feet underground. (Most all
towns we are hitting now have these tunnels.) Another town nearby
is Quechen. I might add that the house we are in now has the
first bathtub I've seen since I've been in Europe.
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